White Bean Pasta Sauce Recipe

We had planned to make bean burritos for dinner when I realized I had made a bad assumption: I couldn’t buy wraps anywhere in our neighborhood (they were sold out) so I needed to come up with something on the fly.

I’m not sure that this is the most photogenic meal we’ve ever had (*cough*), but it was fantastic:

White Bean Pasta Recipe – Ingredients

1 cup dry white beans

water

Olive oil (0.5-1 tablespoon)

1 can stewed tomatoes, including liquid (we use our own, like these). Use a knife to chop them into large pieces in the jar.

Stock (chicken or vegetable)

Salt, pepper to taste

Fresh herbs or herbes salees (if using these, use them before adding salt)

Cheese (Parmesan is great)

Pasta of your choice

White Bean Pasta Recipe – Instructions

Add a thin layer of olive oil to the bottom of a pan and heat to near smoking on medium-high heat.

Toss the beans in the oil and toast for a few moments.

Cover beans with 2 cups of water (you’ll likely need more) and turn heat to high. Add salt to the water, simmer beans until they are soft. You may have to add water as it goes.

Strain beans, reserving liquid (it is used to thicken the sauce if it becomes too thin).

Puree beans and 2 cups of stock (in a food processor or with a stick blender). If it’s too thin, add some of the reserved cooking liquid. If it’s too thick, add more stock. I aim for the consistency of tomato sauce.

Comments

Pasta fagioli is truly the greatest. We usually cook the beans separately and add more tomato, but the general principle is the same. And who cares if it isn’t photogenic? The ugliest food always tastes the best.

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